For years now, there has been a steep and consistent hike in the fees of the Indian Institutes of Scientific Education & Research (IISERs) across India. However, the fellowships for PhD students, as well as the scholarships, have not seen a hike in accordance with the fee hikes. Moreover, students have also complained about not receiving their fellowships on time.
PhD Scholars not receiving their fellowships on time has been a burning issue for a long time now, with the government not paying much heed to their demands. However, that did not stop them from taking to the streets and social media to demand that they get their fair due. Now, bachelor’s and master’s students at IISERs are raising concerns over not receiving their monthly scholarship stipends, in the face of mounting fees.
IISERs and science scholarships – a brief history
Established in 2006, the aim of the IISERs was “to integrate and promote interdisciplinary science education and research”, as stated on their official website. Within over 10 years of founding, IISERs have emerged as premier institutes for Basic Sciences research in India and came to be declared as “Institutes of National Importance” by the Indian Parliament in 2012.
Further, students of IISER could enjoy the benefits of two scholarships offered by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), namely, the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), which was introduced in 1999, and the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scholarship for Higher Education, launched in 2008.
The KVPY allowed a fellowship of Rs 5,000 per month and a contingency grant of Rs 20,000 to eligible students of the bachelor’s and integrated master’s programmes. For the students of the master’s programmes, the fellowship was increased to Rs 7,000, and the contingency grant was increased to Rs 28,000. The fellows of the KVPY programme were also eligible for the INSPIRE scholarship.
Under the INSPIRE scholarship, eligible students would receive a scholarship of Rs 60,000 per annum, which would be disbursed in the form of a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000. In addition, they would also receive a “mentorship grant” of Rs 20,000 per annum.
However, in 2022, the Government of India discontinued the KVPY scholarship and subsumed it into the INSPIRE scholarship.
Dwindling disbursals of INSPIRE fellowships
Since its inception, the stipend under the INSPIRE scholarship has always been Rs 5,000 – and remained unchanged despite fee hikes. “We could manage our expenses with this money, as the fees were not as high back then,” says Anand*, a former student of IISER Thiruvananthapuram.
However, Anand discloses that the fellowship amount remained the same throughout, despite the skyrocketing tuition and amenity fees, and the number of students selected for the scholarship also started to come down. “One might expect that the stipend would increase in accordance with the fee hikes, but that clearly has not been the case,” he says.
To make matters worse, the fellows of the INSPIRE scholarship also raised complaints against delayed disbursal of the stipend – and sometimes lack thereof. “Students have not been receiving their stipends as per the INSPIRE scholarships for the last year and a half,” Anand* claims.
This problem also extends to the reimbursements of the Mentorship Grants. “Many of my batchmates did not even receive their mentorship grant of Rs 20,000, and there has been no communication or reasoning from either the institute or DST about the same,” alleges Anand*.
He further adds that despite submitting all project reports and bills, the students are still met with silence.
Anand* was admitted into the Integrated Master’s Programme in Physical Sciences (BS-MS Physics) in 2016 and graduated in 2021. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in the United States of America (USA).
In addition, despite an increase in the number of seats, the number of allotments for the INSPIRE scholarships remained the same, says Sanjay Babu, General Secretary of the Student Body at IISER Thiruvananthapuram. "Only first-year students were receiving the INSPIRE stipends, and no one else," he adds.
Rising fees, rising uncertainty
Every year, the tuition fee of the IISERs is revised based on the inflationary conditions of that year, while PhD fellowships see a hike every four years.
However, the PhD fellowship was last hiked in 2019 – and was not hiked after that. Even then, the Government of India only allowed a 24% hike.
PhD scholars at IISERs say that this lack of communication on the fellowship hike is a major source of stress and frustration for them. The rising costs of living and the stagnant fellowships have resulted in a significant financial strain for them, the scholars say.
“The rising cost of institutional expenses, such as accommodation, hostels, and mess facilities, worsen the financial burden on PhD students. With the ever-increasing prices of basic necessities, it has become even more challenging to manage our finances effectively,” says Sreerag S J, a fifth-year PhD student from IISER Thiruvananthapuram.
The Physics scholar further says that several PhD students support their families with their stipends and the rising fees add another layer of strain on them. “The inability to meet their family's needs due to insufficient financial support causes tremendous stress and anxiety,” he adds.
Coupled with the excessive workload and poor work-life balance that is often prevalent in academia, the fee hike has taken a toll on the research scholars’ overall well-being, says Sreerag.
Biswajeet Panda, a BS-MS student from IISER Behrampur, says that it is very difficult for them to manage their expenses with the stipends they receive. "Earlier, we were even able to save some money from our stipends. Now, we are finding it difficult to even do that," he says.
Financial uncertainty discourages the pursuit of research
Many in the student community, especially research scholars, agree that this uncertainty in financial security also leads to societal pressure on them. “You cannot get a job as a researcher in Basic Sciences after you get your master’s degree. Prospects open up for you only after a PhD. And pursuing a PhD is not really seen as being employed, despite your stipend,” says Suryadeepto Nag, a recent graduate from IISER Pune.
He further elaborates that this could discourage students from pursuing research altogether.
“Let’s say that a student from IISER instead studies at an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology). They would be able to land a lucrative job right after they graduate and settle down relatively faster. Pursuing research would not give such quick returns, and this is a big put-off for students as well as their parents,” he explains. Considering the skyrocketing fees and the stagnation of fellowship stipends, he adds that anyone would think twice before pursuing research.
The fee hike and lack of financial guarantee also make pursuing education difficult for students financially dependent on their families, he says. “For example, our society still thinks that spending so much money on educating girls is unnecessary. A high fee prevents women from receiving education,” he explains.
Question of accessibility
While IISERs have relatively lower fees compared to IITs and other INIs, the rising tuition fees still act as a barrier to science education for many students, according to Suryadeepto.
IISERs have a complete tuition fee waiver for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) students, but they still have to pay for amenities. “Now, the fees for amenities have also been hiked and this would be a strain on the SC/ST students as well,” he alleges.
Suryadeepto adds that IISERs were established for the purpose of making quality science education accessible for all, and initially had very affordable programmes. “The kind of equipment and atmosphere that exist at IISERs are far too advanced and valuable for the tuition fees — and the affordability of education made it possible for students from diverse backgrounds to benefit from them,” he says.
However, this “partial subsidy”, as he calls it, has a problem. He says that while students can certainly benefit from the state-of-the-art campuses of IISERs, the fee hikes entail that they need to have a certain level of affluence and privilege to get admitted in the first place.
Adverse impact on scientific development
Suryadeepto says that when Science education is exclusive to the rich and affluent, there is no scope for any differing perspectives.
“When you hike fees, you are automatically closing the doors of Science education to many sections of the society – especially ones that have been hitherto unrepresented. It is simply not fair to restrict their entry, and by extension, the important perspectives they bring to the table,” he says.
He also adds that if the scientific community is only comprised of people from the upper class and upper caste groups, Science would be used to only further their class interests rather than the development of society.
Students also say that when scientific research is not financially rewarding, people are not incentivised to pursue it. “Without research scholars, how can we expect to produce quality scientific research?” asks Anand.
The PhD student further explains that many students, like him, are shying away from pursuing research in India, and are choosing to pursue PhDs in the USA and Europe instead. “The brain drain is an issue of concern,” he says.
“In American Universities, stipends are higher and get disbursed faster. There are also a lot of opportunities for growth and collaboration, which PhD students in India often find lacking,” he explains. He also says that there are more diverse employment opportunities in research abroad than in India.
The fundamental difference, Anand says, is that scientific research has better public funding abroad. “If institutes like IISER are given their due funds, they can continue to provide affordable and high-quality research programmes to students,” he continues.
Suryadeepto argues that scientific research must be publicly funded and not left to corporate mercy.
He explains, “Corporate-funded research only means that market trends and profits would guide the research. There would be no research for the sake of furthering scientific development. This would impact Basic Sciences the most. No one would want to research on, let’s say, Applied Algebra just because it is not profitable, which is simply antithetical to the concept of scientific enquiry.”
He suggests that India should follow the example of the erstwhile Soviet Union, or how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are funded, to ensure that IISERs and other research institutes can enable sturdy scientific research.
"IISERs are younger than IITs – and yet, they have managed to produce top-class scientists. Support from the Government could enable them to accomplish wonders in advancing scientific development," Suryadeepto says. He adds, "Public funding of research happens in almost all countries of the world, and we would like that to be implemented in India as well. IISERs should not be expected to function without funding from the state."
Action and response by IISERs
The issues of PhD scholarships not receiving a hike in their fellowships and lack of research are not unique to the IISERs. Last week, the All India Research Scholars Association (AIRSA) met with the DST and demanded that there be a hike in their stipends. The DST assured them of action within three weeks.
Two days ago, AIRSA took to Twitter to make a similar demand, asking that their stipends be increased by 60 per cent.
"While the fees are revised by the Ministry of Education, the DST decides the scholarships and stipend amounts. That is the reason there is a mismatch between the fees and the stipends," says Sanjay. He adds that to ensure that the fee hikes are not too high, the Directors at all IISERs must come together and appeal to the Ministry of Education against them.
According to Anand, many beneficiaries of the INSPIRE scholarship from the current BS-MS batch have protested the non-disbursal of their stipends and even emailed the DST on the issue.
In response, the DST allegedly attributed the non-disbursal to a "serious technical issue" from their end, where their systems showed that the students received their stipends; and promised to correct the issue as soon as possible.
However, the DST is still silent on the issue of the non-disbursal of Summer Mentorship Funds to Anand and his batchmates, he said.
"I sent a mail to the DST through AISRA highlighting our plight, in hopes that they would resolve this issue at the earliest," he said.
EdexLive has reached out to the IISERs in India for an official comment. The story would be updated as and when we receive a response
*name changed on request of anonymity
